OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Yo buddies! This week I picked up (yet another) cheap old XBOX, and it's exhibiting a few weird behaviours. First thing I noticed when I plugged it in was that the controller immediately started rumbling... And when I say plugged it in, I MEAN as SOON as I plugged the system in it started humming and the controller rumbled like crazy. I quickly unplugged the controller and the system and checked the connections etc. Now, I was aware there was a problem with one of the controllers because it was listed in the item description, so I plugged in the other controller that came with the system instead. I plugged the XBOX into the outlet, and nothing, no hum from the system, no rumble from the controller. All being well I then attempted to boot the system, but there was no response from the power button, it was totally unresponsive. I then pressed the disc eject button, and low and behold the system started, but without the light on the front... Using the disc eject button gave a few different, anomalous reactions. Sometimes pressing it would turn on the system, without opening the disc drive, sometimes it would open the disc drive AND turn on the system, sometimes pressing it would turn OFF the system, or reboot it. Nonetheless, the system functions generally as expected during standard use, the disc drive works, the (non-perma-rumbly) controller works, the games work etc. I plugged the broken controller back in while testing the game, and it started rumbling again, non-stop, but no other effects were observed, the system played on as normal (and the controller seemed to function normally, despite the constant rumbling). After testing another game, the system seemed to settle into a simple pattern: the disc eject button now works as it should, it turns the system on, it opens and closes the disc drive as it should, and it no longer seems to turn OFF the system, which is all normal. However, the light still doesn't come on, and the actual power button doesn't work at all, which means the only way to turn the system off is to unplug it... So, after all that, does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? I will be opening it up when I get time, perhaps tomorrow to take a closer look, but anyone got any ideas? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 Paging the good doctor, @drxandy, I'm sure he's got something to weigh in with on all this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
360collector | 289 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Well easiest thing to do is to open it and see if you got clock capacitor acid leaked all over your board and overall condition in there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 14 minutes ago, 360collector said: Well easiest thing to do is to open it and see if you got clock capacitor acid leaked all over your board and overall condition in there Yeah I will be doing that as standard practice, I will try and find time for that tomorrow... Just wondering if this is a known fault with some common fix, or have I come across something novel?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
360collector | 289 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 1 hour ago, OptOut said: Yeah I will be doing that as standard practice, I will try and find time for that tomorrow... Just wondering if this is a known fault with some common fix, or have I come across something novel?! stop slacking taking those pics and writing all that took you longer than opening the console Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 14 minutes ago, 360collector said: stop slacking taking those pics and writing all that took you longer than opening the console I'm tired! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 Right, I've been inside, and, frankly, it's a MESS in there! Multiple, big burst caps, clock cap has corroded some of the board, basically it's just nasty in here... I am unsure if the board is beyond saving, a FULL recap and clean up of the board could restore it to full working order. However, it's kinda beyond my capabilities, and frankly not worth the effort IMO. Instead, what I have done is to remove the working disc drive from this unit, and transplant that into another XBOX I have with a dead drive. This is something I had been meaning to do for a while, so I'm actually super happy with the outcome, even if this PARTICULAR XBOX didn't survive, it's life has not been in vain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,236 Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Kinda late but I was gonna say caps or maybe been through a power surge weird to not have power led. The constant rumble could be a short in the cable (did it keep rumbling when plugged into ports other than the first one?) Maybe someone dropped it or threw it and something got funky? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 57 minutes ago, drxandy said: Kinda late but I was gonna say caps or maybe been through a power surge weird to not have power led. The constant rumble could be a short in the cable (did it keep rumbling when plugged into ports other than the first one?) Maybe someone dropped it or threw it and something got funky? Possibly! I took the little thingy off the cable, like you know the tearaway cable thing and it wasn't that, I checked with another one. I've got plenty of spare controllers, so not going to cry too much over that one, and I actually have one of those tearaway cables I need replacing anyway, so this whole thing is turning into a parts-travaganser! Also, even if this old boy's Halo days are behind him, he's still got a nice view chilling in retirement in my game room! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drxandy | 3,236 Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Back in the day I had a green s controller that I used to death, ended up with a short in the main cable (not the breakaway) and would only work if you held the cord the right way.. super annoying I just got rid of it back then but now I wish I could try some surgery haha. At least ya can part it out, and the box is super coooool 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
360collector | 289 Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Very sad news the clock capacitors have been a known issue for many many years very irresponsible from the previous owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,892 Posted June 11, 2022 Author Share Posted June 11, 2022 16 hours ago, 360collector said: Very sad news the clock capacitors have been a known issue for many many years very irresponsible from the previous owner It was just some old man. I got this ridiculously cheap, not to worry! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_wizard_666 | 1,325 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Caps are easy to replace, the skillset required is pretty minimal. But here's a plus - if you don't feel like sinking the funds into getting it up and running, you can still use it for parts to repair other consoles down the road. Honestly, I always thought it would be more complicated than it really is to fix consoles and stuff. Newer systems are a lot trickier than older ones due to more components and stuff, but the basics of keeping them running is pretty simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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